Assassin’s Creed 3 Director Says Japanese Games Get a Free Pass

Alex Hutchinson, the creative director of Assassin’s Creed 3, thinks he knows why Nintendo can get away with releasing new versions of old franchises. It might not be the answer you expect. After Hutchinson compared AC to other well known franchises, Mario and Resident Evil, website CVG asked the creative director why Nintendo can release…

Counter-Strike: GO‘s First Mod Wants Braaaiiins!

When shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive launches next week, it will have a Zombie Mod from the folks over at plaguefest.com. “It was important to us as we developed CS:GO to make sure it was as moddable and extensible as any CS game,” wrote Valve on its Counter-Strike blog. “So this is just one of many…

Sometimes, Bowing Is Very, Very Tricky

In Japan, bowing is important. There are various ways to bow and various meanings for bowing. When newscasters sign off, they always bow. Recently, anchorwoman Yuuko Aoki’s hair got caught in a desk mic while bowing on television. The YouTube has gone viral in Japan, with nearly half a million views.

Developer: “Some Company in China Stole My Game”

That was the alert from Reddit user Fragsworth. It seems that China’s Tencent gaming platform Pengyou and the Tencent app store have what looks like an exact copy of his indie game Cloudstone. According to Fragsworth: It’s pretty clear that they blatantly, seriously ripped us off. They took our files, reverse-engineered the server, and hosted…

If You’re Confused By the Resident Evil Movies, Watch This

Next month, Resident Evil: Retribution hits theaters. Not everyone has been keeping up with the Resident Evil flicks. Heck, even those who have seen them might not know what the hell is going on. Here’s a two-and-a-half minute digest that should bring you up to speed. Hopefully! If you don’t have two minutes, here’s my…

Can This Superstition Determine Your Fate? Probably Not!

John F. Kennedy. Marilyn Monroe. James Dean. These icons share more than an untimely fate. According to a Japanese author and macrobiotic diet guru George Ohsawa, they shared the same kind of eyes—”sanpaku” (三白) eyes. Because of that, Ohsawa implied, they met similar fates and died early deaths. Literally, “sanpaku-gan” (三白眼) translates to “three whites…

The beta for Valve’s Big Picture service is “coming soon”

Cute Hoodie Turns You Into a Subtle Ryu From Street Fighter

The biggest problem most video game-inspired outfits run into is subtlety. Or, their lack of it. Something emblazoned with logos and character art might be fine for a LAN party or trade show, but on the street, it can often be a little much. So I like this hoodie. I wouldn’t buy it, but I…

The Pikachu 3DS XL Is Just Too Adorable

Squeal! Holy smoke, this Pikachu 3DS XL is too cute. Not only that, it’s hard to get. See, this Pikachu 3DS XL will only be sold at the Pokémon Center stores in Sapporo, Tohoku, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The “Pokémon Center Original Nintendo 3DS XL Pikachu Yellow” is priced at ¥18,900 (US$239). The…

Gabe Newell Dodges Half-Life 3 Question with Shark Hate

This is shark week! All week, all the time, all sharks. There are even sharks in your Half-Life 3 answers. Aw, crap. Really? Yes, really During an interview with Valve’s Gabe Newell, Spike TV asked if there was anything he wanted to say about Half-Life 3. To which Newell responded, “I hate sharks.” That’s not…

The Art of Darksiders II

You could, if Hong Kong gangsters weren’t your thing, call Darksiders II the biggest game release of the week. Probably the month, too. So now’s probably as good a time as ever to look at some terrific concept art from the game. The environmental and weapon images below were done by artist Jonathan Kirtz, a…

The Counter Strike: Global Offensive Teaser Has You in Its Sights

Here’s a cinematic teaser for the upcoming Counter Strike: Global Offensive, flash bang and all. The upcoming team-based shooter is headed to PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on August 21.

Valve Is Making Documentaries Now

Here’s the documentary trailer for the upcoming DOTA documentary, which follows the players who are trying to go pro and compete in a million dollar tourney. It premiered tonight on GTTV and is “coming soon”.

GameStop Launching Streaming Game Service Next Year

GameStop will start competing direcly with streaming services like OnLive in 2013, when the retailer launches its own entrant in the growing field. The company purchased Spawn Labs’ streaming service last year, but while initially promising it would be able to beam games to “any Internet-enabled device”, it’s since dialled that back a little to…

Game Studio Sues Another Over The Word “Rebellion”

Stardock is now fighting a legal war on two fronts. Only a day after news of its case against a former employee emerged, the publisher is now being taken to court by Rebellion, the developers of games like Sniper Elite and the original (and awesome) Alien vs Predator. The issue? Stardock is the publisher of…

There Was a Ton of Stuff Cut From Fallout: New Vegas That You Can Play Right Now

When Obsidian took over from BioWare to develop Knights of the Old Republic II, the game was famously (and forcibly, by Lucasarts) shipped “incomplete”. Only when modders reinstated a bunch of cut content could we enjoy the full experience the developers had planned for the game. Much the same happened when the studio took over…

Now This Looks Like The Perfect Game of Thrones…Game

Like Kirk, I’m a fiend for the Game of Thrones board game. The treachery, the balance, it’s one of the best tabletop experiences I’ve ever had. Still, there’s always room for improvement! The pieces, for example, are a little bland. My crew has fixed that by purchasing a ton of the Battles of Westeros miniatures.…

Chinese Cops Burn Game Machines

Part of a striking gallery of images over on Wired, showing Chinese authorities taking the torch to a pile of illegal electronic gambling game machines. In focus: Confiscated gambling machine bonfire [Wired]

Man, Everybody’s Leaving Saturday Night Live

So many people are leaving SNL this year that people like Abby Elliott, who I feel like I’ve barely seen on the show, are also announcing their departures. Elliott will join two heavy hitters, Kristin Wiig and Andy Samberg, in leaving the show before its next season, and there are reports that “Weekend Update” anchor…

Hyrule Historia, the Zelda Encyclopedia, Will Be Localized for North America

Serious Legend of Zelda fans in the West have treated Hyrule Historia something like a venerated text—and one in a language many of them couldn’t read. Today, Dark Horse Comics announced that it at long last would be bringing an English-language version of the Zelda encyclopedia to North America, the UK and Australia. Known for…